# [spirit review] Glen Grant The Major's Reserve



## markov (Aug 15, 2011)

This review is hopefully the first in a series of reviews, which will cover mostly whiskies, but also other spirits from different places all over the globe. I suppose if I enjoy trying and reviewing spirits, I could as well share it with the community. If there will be any interest and readers will like the review(s), I'll proceed and keep the series alive.

Having a wedding scheduled next month, every penny counts, so on this visit to the liquor store I decided to go on budget. Rather than getting a decent blend, I decided to pick the cheapest available single malt scotch whisky, which happened to be Glen Grant The Major's Reserve. At the price of 17€ here, it's even cheaper than most premium blends. So how does it hold up?









Glen Grant distillery was founded in 1840, in a town of Rothes. It was an almost ideal place for a distillery, it had good supply of water for the mash and to power the machinery, it had a seaport in its proximity and easy access to supplies of barley from nearby Moray. Shortly after the original founders of the distillery died, it was taken over by James 'The Major' Grant, after whom the whisky to be reviewed is named. There are many stories about 'The Major' circulating around, most of them portray him as innovative and unconventional man. He designed the tall slender stills that remain the trademark of the brand to this day and give Glen Grant line of whiskies its own characteristic mild nature. Glen Grant brand continued to grow, being eventually taken over by Pernod Ricard in 2001 for a brief period of time and now it's in hands of Campari, what might be the reason it ended up being best selling scotch in Italy.

The packaging is simple and neat, describing the whisky as 'seductively smooth, fruity and rich' below the logo and 'soft, fresh vanilla note and hazelnut finish' below the name of this particular whisky. Well we will see about that. Personally, I'm not in favor of tasting notes on packaging, as it might give preconceptions and expectations that can modify the whisky tasting experience. It's hard to resist trying to find tasting notes they describe rather than focusing on what you really should - the overall tasting experience. But the package doesn't stop at that. On its back, after giving some history and telling us who 'The Major' was, continues: 'Glen Grant The Major's Reserve displays a light golden colour with a soft bouquet of delicate apple note. This superb Single Malt offers a fresh and vanilla palate with a slightly dry and hazelnut finish'.

This whisky gives no age statement and is an entry-level Glen Grant. It's bottled at 40%, and clearly uses caramel as source of its light golden color (caramel E150A is the only additional ingredient scotch is allowed to have), thus any judgement based on the color would not hold any weigth, as goes for (almost) all scotch whiskies. Unscrewing the cap (yep, it's a screw one) immediately hits me with strong vanilla aroma. Nice! Time to pour it in two glasses, one with and one without water.

On the nose: the vanilla is still clearly present. Surprisingly, I pick apple juice or cider immediately as the second most prominent aroma. So the description on the package was right and they don't take customers as fools. The glass with added teaspoon of water opens up, but it needs some time to do so - the result is less vanilla and more fruity notes, almost completely cider by now. Leaving it to open up a little more brings vanilla back.

Tasting: this is definitely a soft whisky. Initial taste is soft, sweet vanilla that slowly develops and shows less sweet notes. I suppose you could call it hazelnut finish, like the packaging says, although I don't agree with this one as much as with vanilla an apple tones. Water brings more vanilla and sweetness and a bit less complex, although still a little nutty finish.

This is a nice entry level budget whisky. It's a bit one dimensional, but it delivers exactly what it promises. I can't make up my mind wether added water benefits this whisky or not. While it makes it more pleasant to drink, it cuts its already smaller complexity. It's always up to you to decide in the end. I'll drink this one without water.

I give this whisky 3.5/5
It's by no means a bad grade, its a nice average whisky, especially compelling when you consider its price.


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